Iran Blackouts, hyperinflation, dissent: Iran considers perilous prospect of peace Conditions that led to bloody prewar protests have been made worse, commentators say Patrick Wintour Follow Patrick Wintour in My Guardian Notifications off Sat 6 Jun 2026 09.00 BST Listen to this article 8:21 Iran is already preparing for the perilous transition from wartime unity to a fractious peace marked by hyperinflation, a 10% contraction in the economy, power cuts and calls for a triumphalist government to end its unprecedented hunting down of dissent. With peace not yet secured, the debates within the regime about Iran’s future are only just starting to emerge but its rulers are clearly thinking about how after surviving the war, they can survive the peace. Open discussions on channels such as Azad are heard on alternative future postwar directions for the country. There are advocates of greater openness, and others such as Saeed Ajorlou, close to the Iranian negotiating tea...